


Back In(to) the Tall Grass

by CoffeeOnRainyDays



Category: Into The Tall Grass (2019)
Genre: Aftermath, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Cal DeMuth Is an Asshole, Canon Continuation, Canonical Character Death, Check notes for more info, Confusion, Dark, Death, Explicit Language, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Flashbacks, Gen, Graphic Description of Corpses, Horror, Hugs, Mental Health Issues, Minor Character Death, Most of the time, Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Plot, Plot Twists, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Horror, Self-Doubt, Survivor Guilt, Temporary Character Death, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Time Travel Bullshit, Tobin Humbolt Needs A Hug, Trauma, Writing Exercise, follows the movie not the book, he gets some but it doesnt make things better, i actually have a plan, ig, im not sure what else to put, inaccurate police things, maybe probably not, maybe well see when we get there, what the fuck am i doing?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-16 11:09:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29699655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoffeeOnRainyDays/pseuds/CoffeeOnRainyDays
Summary: In one supposed universe, Tobin escapes, saves Becky, and is dropped off at the police as an orphan while the DeMuth's go on to live their normal lives while Travis goes missing (not that anyone notices).In this universe, Tobin escapes, saves Becky, and ends up being dragged into the field again.(aka, a continuation/rewrite/aftermath of the movie)
Relationships: Becky DeMuth/Travis McKean, Tobin Humbolt & Becky DeMuth





	Back In(to) the Tall Grass

Becky isn’t sure what to make of the situation.

She’s used to having kids come up to her, whether it’s at the store, the mall, or the park. Used to children crying about how they lost their parents and helping them calm down so she could help them. Becky wasn’t sure why it happened so often, and why those children would come to _her_ , but she was used to it. She knew how to handle that situation.

This was not something she knew how to handle.

Neither did her brother, whose grip on the steering wheel is growing tighter by the minute.

He finally speaks up, “This is insane, crazy!”

“I know.” She replies softly.

“I mean- we hear a kid yelling for help and- and then the same fucking kid-”

“Cal! Language!”

He grumbles but falls silent.

Becky turns as much as she could (being pregnant sucked) to face the kid. He’s curled up even tighter than before, but his gaze has yet to leave field, though she doubts he's really seeing it. Tears are still making their way down his face and she can tell he’s suppressing sobs if his hitching breath is anything to go by. He’s dirty and in desperate need of a bath. She can see dark smudges on the seat.

Becky really doesn’t want to put him in any more distress but… “Tobin?”

His head quickly snaps toward her and he frantically wipes his eyes to no avail. She can still see the pain and sorrow and fear there. He doesn’t speak but he does make a noise to show he’s listening.

“Tobin,” She hesitates, biting her lip. “What happened?”

Tears fill his eyes again and Tobin ducks his head down. His breath is ragged. She gives him a couple of minutes to collect himself. “Tobin?”

He sniffs and presses his palms against his eyes. Eventually, a cracked voice answers. “I’m not- I’m not even sure where to begin. It’s so confusing. Sorry.”

“That’s alright.” She reassures. “Why don’t we start with where you found us? Were you in the church?”

Tobin nods.

“How did you get there?”

“Travis showed me the way out of the field. I ended up at the top.”

Ah.

“I know it sounds crazy but it’s the truth.”

It did sound crazy. It didn’t make sense in the least. But Becky knew to just move forward whenever a kid was confused or stuck on something that couldn’t be true. Like when a kid cried that their parents had disappeared out of thin air.

“How do you know Travis?”

His palms press harder into his eyes. Not a good question then.

“He- I- we-”

Definitely not a good question.

She quickly changes the topic, “What about your parents? Where are they?”

Tobin lets out a small moan and starts rocking back and forth. “The field, they’re still in the field.”

Becky shoots a panicked look toward Cal, who sends a shrug back.

She puts her attention back on Tobin. “Hey, it’s alright, it’s okay. Tobin, can you look at me, please? Please?”

He hesitantly peeks between his fingers. She sends him a reassuring smile. “Why don’t we talk about something else, hmm?” They had plenty of time to figure out what happened, and the police were probably going to question him again anyway when they arrived at the station. Which wouldn’t be in another hour or so.

He nods quickly.

“What’s your favorite color? Mine is yellow.”

He thinks for a moment. He had really liked red but… “Blue. I like blue.”

“Blue’s a nice color. Like the ocean and the sky.”

“Yeah…”

This is a safe route, Becky thinks.

“What’s your favorite food?”

Tobin slowly creeps out, growing a little more comfortable with her. “Chicken nuggets. What’s your favorite?”

She smiles. Score. “I personally like pasta.”

“That’s good too.”

“What about your favorite animal?”

He smiles, “I like dogs. I have a-”

He stops smiling.

Becky does too. “Tobin?”

He doesn’t respond.

“Tobin? Hey, can you hear me? Tobin?” Becky can feel anxiety crawling in her stomach.

Cal glances up to look at the kid, who’s gone white as a sheet. “Kid? Becky, what’s going on?”

Becky doesn’t have time to answer him, because Tobin is speaking again, almost tripping over his words.

“I had a dog. I had a dog and his name was Freddy. His name was Freddy and he ran away into the field and I followed after him, even though Mom told me not to.” His voice hitches and he asks so heartbreakingly scared, “What if it’s my fault?”

Becky smacks Cal’s shoulder and hisses, “Pull over, pull over _now_.”

He pulls off to the side of the road and Becky rushes out to pull open the door as fast as she can.

She didn’t think Tobin could curl up any tighter but she was wrong. He’s pushing against his eyes again, mumbling, “Maybe it’s my fault.”.

Becky doesn’t know what happened. She doesn’t know exactly what decisions he may have made, what the situation may have called for, but she does know this.

“Nothing was your fault. You are a _child_.” She says fiercely.

He shakes his head wildly. “But-”

“Nothing was your fault.” She restates. “I don’t know what happened, but it was. Not. Your. Fault.”

She hates the disbelief in his eyes when he hesitantly peaks through his fingers, _again._

“Really?”

“Yes.” She responds softly, “Now, repeat it with me. It was not my fault.”

“... It was… not… my fault.”

Becky hears the disbelief, and more importantly, the _resignation_ behind his words. Like he's ready to accept that it is his fault. She hates it but she knows she's not just going to suddenly change his mind.

She grabs his wrists gently, pausing when he flinches at her touch before she pulls them away from his face. His hands are small. She clasps them between her own hands.

“It's okay.”

Mom would always do this when she was feeling down or angry. It's always calmed her, knowing there was someone there for her. That it was okay to break down and cry and that it was all going to be okay. Becky hopes it brings some semblance of peace toward the boy.

Apparently, it does as Tobin launches himself forward to hug her. His arms wrap around her neck and he buried his head into her shoulder, no longer trying to hide his tears. Sobs rack his body and Becky soothes him.

“It's okay, it's alright, Tobin. Shh.”

For a moment, Becky thinks this is what she'll do with her own child one day.

Her shirt is damp when Tobin calms down enough to settle back into his seat. He’s tired, eyelids drooping, and hopefully, he sleeps for the rest of the drive.

Becky gets back into the car and Cal starts driving again silently. She starts getting drowsy after a couple of minutes but knows she can’t drift off just yet.

“So…”

She looks over at Cal whose tapping his thumb against the steering wheel.

“What do you think happened to him?”

Cal sighs, “Something not good.”

She hums in agreement and rubs her stomach in thought.

“My concern is with that kid in the field.” He says quietly. The irritation has dwindled down to concern. “I mean, we heard Tobin in the field. I know that. But then he shows up and tells us not to listen to him? Or whoever that kid was.”

It is perplexing.

“Maybe a twin brother?” She suggests.

“Then why would Tobin not want us to help him?”

“I don’t know…”

Cal taps his thumb faster. “And how does he know your ex? _Travis_ isn’t exactly the kid type.”

Becky is uncomfortable with the barely concealed jab but doesn’t speak to defend Travis. It was true, after all.

“I don’t know.”

“God, this is confusing.”

“I know.”

They drive on in silence, each stewing in their own thoughts. She glances in the review mirror. Tobin is sleeping. His head is ducked forward, arms loosely wrapped around himself. He looks at peace. Dirty and with tear tracks down his cheeks, yes, but at peace.

She wonders what happened to him.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I was caught by this idea immediately after I watched the movie, and now I am writing it 2 years later.
> 
> To be fair, I forgot about and it wasn't this developed until like a month ago. Anyway. It's going to be 10-chapters(With titles!!!) and I honestly cannot wait (though I want it to be longer).
> 
> Also, what is it with there only being one other fic in this fandom on ao3? I thought more people would have done something. Well, I'm here now.
> 
> I hope you rare viewers enjoyed this! (and I really hope for FUCK that I don't spoil anything or reveal too much in the notes/tags)


End file.
